


Bedtime Story

by nokia_writes



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Better Than Canon, Domestic Fluff, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Husbands, M/M, Sleepy Stories, lowkey, they have a kid yall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 00:14:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20898464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nokia_writes/pseuds/nokia_writes
Summary: It is too damn early in the morning for their kid to be up





	Bedtime Story

**Author's Note:**

> first of my baby tozier series and i’ll def be writing more

He’s just barely awake, drifting somewhere between the warmth of sleep and peaceful wakeness, when he hears it. It doesn’t click at first, his brain is still foggy, but then it falls into place and the gears in his brain turn ever so slowly.

Whispering.

Tiny, bare footsteps down the hallway. 

Richie cracks his eyes open, blearily glancing at the analog clock on the nightstand. It’s just past four in the morning, also known as _too damn early for his kid to be up._ He tries to roll onto his back, but Eddie’s got his face pressed into Richie’s shoulder, still sound asleep. Richie shifts slightly, trying not to disturb Eddie, and squints at the doorway. Down the hall, their daughter giggles, followed by more quiet foot steps. Richie sighs, fingers coming up to rub at the corners of his eyes. 

_At least she’s enjoying herself_ Richie thinks, then fumbles blindly for his glasses in the dark. As he’s putting them on and the darkness of their bedroom is coming into focus, Eddie shifts against him.

“Stop fuckin’ moving,” his voice is heavy with sleep and his words are slurred, and it makes Richie smile. He slips from under the covers, turning to kiss the scar on Eddie’s cheek.

“Kid’s awake,” he mumbles, his own voice hoarse and tired, “be right back,”

Eddie mutters something and pulls the blankets back over himself as Richie slowly gets up, joints cracking and muscles aching. This kid’ll be the death of him. 

The hardwood floor is cold on his bare feet, as he pushes open the slightly ajar bedroom door. He looks down the hall towards his daughter’s room, then the other way, pausing to listen. 

A hushed whisper from the bathroom. A small giggle.

Richie sighs, hands combing back his curls as he pads towards the bathroom. He’s only in an old tee and a pair of sweats, and he wishes they didn’t set the thermostat so low at night right about now. He steps into the bathroom and his eyes instantly find the closed shower curtain and how it flutters with the slightest of movement. 

He glances at himself in the mirror, and rolls his eyes in amusement. This kid’s absolutely restless, and he loves her so much. He walks quietly over to the shower and leans in to listen. He can’t make anything out except the mad babbling of a four year old. He smiles, and briefly entertains the idea of just letting her play and going back to bed, but Eddie would never forgive him.

“I’m pretty sure it’s past your bedtime.”

The whispers behind the shower curtain stop, and then Richie hears her move, the curtain swaying and bending in response.

Ridley pulls the curtain back slowly and looks up at her father, her eyes big and dark, like Eddie’s. Richie tilts his head down at her. She doesn’t speak, just stares up at him with those puppy eyes that always make him bend. She’s been getting good at that lately.

“C’mon little bug, back to bed.”

“But ‘m not tired.” Ridley sits back on her feet, legs tucked under her and pouts. Richie smiles and pulls back the curtain all the way. She’s got a few toys in there with her, including her favorite stuffed animal and a couple of dolls. 

“But your dad and I are _super_ tired, hon.”

“But sleeping’s _boring_,” she tilts her head back dramatically, and Richie almost laughs she’s so ridiculous, “I wanna play!”

“We can’t play right now sweetie, you’ll have to wait until the morning.” Richie squats down so he’s level with her and brushes her hair out of her eyes. It’s getting long, she’ll have to get it cut soon. She huffs and looks down. Richie raises his hand and taps her nose lightly.

“C’mon, and I might tell you a story.”

Ridley looks up, brows furrowing as she seems to consider his deal. “_Fine_,” she sighs as she clambers out of the tub and into Richie’s arms, “but it better be a good one this time.”

Richie tries to scowl at her, but it’s such an Eddie thing to say that he can’t help but smile. She wraps her arms around his shoulders as he picks her toys out of the tub and places them on the bath mat. He can pick them up in the morning.

He carries her out of the bathroom and past their bedroom, where Eddie is still asleep, and into her room at the end of the hall. She tugs on his shirt as he lowers her on to the bed.

“_Story._” 

“Right, right, right. A story.” He pulls the blanket up to her chin and kneels down next to the bed. He thinks, then smiles.

“Once upon a time, there was a group of kids. They did everything together, and they all loved each other very much. They played games and told stories and had so much fun when they were with each other. None of the other kids liked these friends, because they were all outcasts, losers, you could say-“

“Daddy that’s not a nice word.”

Richie smiles. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” 

After she nods in approval, Richie continues, “But it didn’t matter what everyone else thought of the friends, because when they were together, they were as happy as they could be. They had all they needed already.”

Ridley turned onto her side to listen, face tucked into her pillow.

“But there was also a monster. A huge, ugly monster that ate up entire worlds for dinner, and took little children from their parents. It lived underground and watched the friends from it’s hiding place. It chased after them with huge claws and teeth and threatened to eat them up. The monster didn’t like the friends, and it wanted to separate them.”

“Why?”

“Because the friends were stronger when they were together. When they were together, they weren’t afraid of the monster. And when they weren’t afraid, the monster was actually a little bit afraid of them.”

“But did it do it? Did it split them up?”

Richie tilts his head. Thinks for a moment. “Yeah. Eventually it did. They all left and forgot about each other. But they didn’t stay apart forever. Because when you love someone, you kind of never really forget them. So all the kids came back to each other one day, all much older and smarter than they’d been, and they came up with a plan to beat the monster.”

“How?”

“By facing their fears. When they faced their fears and overcame them, the monster wasn’t all that scary. It still tried to hurt them, but the kids were a lot stronger than they used to be, and their strength scared the monster. It scared it so much that it crawled back underground where it came from and died there from its fear. So everyone was safe again, and the kids—now adults—lived happily ever after.”

Ridley’s eyelids droop and flutter as Richie kisses her forehead. “Is the monster gone now?”

“Yeah, you don’t have to worry. The monster’s never coming back. If it does, I’ll protect you.” Richie pushes the night light next to her bed back into it’s socket and watches it flicker and come back on.

“I left my toys in the bathroom...” Ridley mumbles, already starting to nod off. She pulls the blanket up tighter around herself. A thought comes to Richie as he stands up.

“What were you doing in there anyway? You don’t usually play in there.”

Ridley yawns, “I was talking to my friend.”

Richie smiles. “Well I bet it was past their bedtime too.”

Ridley is still for a moment, then she shakes her head. “He doesn’t have a bedtime.”

Richie hums, “Well, what’s this friend’s name?”

“His name’s Penny. He lives in the drain.”

**Author's Note:**

> ridley kaspbrak-tozier upon meeting pennywise for the first time: sir your vibes are disgusting 
> 
> i don’t have anywhere im going with this story atm so if y’all have suggestions please! leave them!! 
> 
> comment head cannons for ridley and let’s get this party started :)


End file.
